Once the sound waves, balance and equilibrium information is encoded into neural signals by the inner ear, the neural impulses are sent to the brain along a nerve fiber bundle called the vestibulo-cochlear nerve, sometimes called the acoustic nerve. This nerve is numbered eight of the twelve cranial nerves that enter the brainstem. Other cranial nerves include the optic nerve, the olfactory nerve, the facial nerve and more.

In the brain’s central auditory cortex, the neural impulses are interpreted as sound based on our learning and cognitive processes associated with our auditory experiences.